Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Leila Meacham's "Titans," the movie

I’m afraid my answer will disappoint your curious readers if not outright make them laugh. The fact is that I rarely attend movies except for the Oscar contenders now and then and so have little if any knowledge of who is who in the movie business. I no longer recognize anybody on the cover of People magazine or the faces on supermarket tabloids, let alone know who the headlines are exposing. I’m from the era of Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood, and (sigh) Robert Redford. Now if I had those warm bodies in their heyday or their likes to choose from, I’d know exactly who to cast for Titans. One of the most sobering moments for me—one that reflected my age—was the question put to me by an interviewer when Roses was published. “Who would you like to see play Percy and Mary in the movie?” I was stumped for an answer. Elizabeth Taylor was dead and Robert Redford too old. Even Brad Pitt was beyond the age of the novel’s young Percy Warwick. Perhaps . . . when Percy had aged? I thought. In 2010 when Roses was released, I recognized the names and faces of only a few of the movie stars making headlines, and none of them seemed right for the roles of the characters. But I can tell you who I’d like to see direct Titans. He would be none other than...[read on]